Apparatus for cutting, folding, and interfolding sheets or units.



PATENTED DEC. 24, 1907.

8. WHEELER. APPARATUS FOR CUTTING, FOLDING, AND INTERFOLDING SHEETS OB. UNITS.

APPLICATION TILED DEG-31,1904.

$7 [ZN i lzg 7 Alto nej UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SETH WHEELER, OF AL13ANY, NEW YO K, ASSIGNOR TO MAXIMILIAN MoRIz AND HEINRIcH KUMMER, OF BERLIN, GERMANY. f

APPARATUS FOR CUTTING, FOLDING, AND INTERFOLDING- SHEETS OR UNITS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1907.

Application filed December 31.1904. Serial No. 239,274.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SET WHEELER, a resident of Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Cutting, Folding, and Interfolding Sheets or Units; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same.

My invention relates to an improved apparatus for cutting, folding and interfolding, and more particularly to an apparatus for cutting a strip or strips of paper into sheets or units of two or more sheets, folding each sheet or unit into several leaves or flaps, interfolding the end flaps of adjacent sheets, or units, and piling such interfolded sheets, or units, the-result being a package consisting of a series of any desired number of interleaved units or sheets for use in cabinets, such as toilet cabinets, in which the withdrawal of one sheet or unit exposes the terminal flaps of the next succeeding sheet or unit.

The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which will perform the above functions, quickly and accurately, and permit the pile of folded sheets, or sections thereof to be removed from time to time without interrupting theoperation of the apparatus. y

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in longitudinal section illustrating my improvements, and Fig. 2 is a top plan view with holding tapes removed;

1 and 2 represent two parallel rolls having trunnions at their ends, supported in frames 3. Also supported in the frames 3 back of rolls 1 and 2 are rolls 4, and behind rolls 4, feeding rolls 5 are located, all connected by a chain of gearing 6 and turn simultaneously to feed the paper strips 7, as many of said strips or sheets may be located one above the other as may be desired according to the number of sheets composed in the interfolded units or books.

prtject outward beyond the ends of rolls 4' an into cam flanged stationary disks 11 which latter serve to hold back the cutters, until they reach a position adjacent to rolls 1, where thefianges of disks 11 are notched or recessed as shown at 12, permitting the springs 10 to force the cutters forward through the paper strips and sever the strips into sheets of the desired length, the bars 9 being drawn back by the cam shape of the recess or notches 12, until the-rolls 4 again reach this position. 1

- It will be seen that the ribs 15 project sufficiently high above the peripheries of the respective rolls 1 and 2 that when the web of paper is drawn over the rib and down upon the periphery of the roll, there will be a portion of the paper, drawn tight, which is unsupported, and at this point, the knives 8 will be able by engaging the paper to sever the same.

Above rolls 1 and 2 tapes 14, running over rollers 14, are provided for holding the cut sheets upon the rolls 1 and 2, and effectually guiding these down between the rolls, the centermost roller 14 carries the tapes from both sides, and this roller will be idle and free to respond to the movement of the tape which takes the strongest hold upon it, and at times will remain stationary. Both rolls 1 and 2 are provided at proper intervals with V shaped ribs 15, the rib on one roll being. effective to press the paper sheets carried by the other roll into the groove 13 in such other roll and-give to the sheets the impression upon which they are folded and thus insure a straight even fold and flap of uniform width. a

On one end of one trunnion of each roll 1 and 2 grooved eccentrics 16 are secured, and rollers or pins 17 at the upper ends of racks 18 are located in the grooves of said eccentrics, so that as the latter turn, the racks will be reciprocated up and down. These racks 18 mesh with gear segments 19 on shafts 20 and also with gears 21 on shafts 22. Shafts 20 carry at regular intervals, stripper arms 23, which project into grooves 24 in rolls 1 and 2 and compel the release of the sheets from holding pins 25 beside grooves 13, which pins prevent slipping of the paper while being cut and while being given its fold impressions.-

On shafts 22 folder blades26 are secured and when the shafts are turned theiblades 26 press the folded edges of the paper down on the pile carried by a movable platform 27 from which sections of the pile can be removed from time to time,

The 0 eration of the machine is as follows :T e webs of paper fed by rolls 5 upon both sides of the machine pass to the receiving rolls 4 and-thence to theoppositely moving central rolls 1, 2 the latter being provided with tapes 14 to conduct the sheets down- 15 ward between the two central rolls, as before explained. Each of the cutters 8 is {normally within the periphery of the roll a 4 which carries it. At the proper time for cutting, namely when the cutter is opposite the portion of paper drawn taut over the ridge or rib 15, the cutter will be projected, sever a sheet from the continuous web and by the action of the tapes, the sheet will be carried over its adjacent central rolland between the central rolls with the sheet coming from the other central roll. It will be noticed that the cutters alternate in their action, the efiect of which is to cause the ends of two sheets and the center of the third sheet to .meet at the moment when the impression rib the folders 26. When the sheet next to be.

folded is being thus carried forward to be deposited on the pile, the end of the sheet from the other roll will follow it in the manner shown in Fig. 1. The reason for this is, that when the two sheets are pressed together between the central rolls the air will be exhausted from between them by thepressure of said central rolls.

portion which is there free to leave its roll will, therefore adhere to and follow the sheet held to the other roll by the pins 25. When the folded sheet from roll 2 and the end of the sheet coming from roll 1 will be marked for folding and engaged by the pin 25 on said roll 1. The fold of this sheet will therefore be carried by roll 1 toward the left hand end of the pile and the forward end of the next sheet coming over roll 2 will be carried with it in the manner and for the reason before explained and the upper member of the folded sheet'corning from roll 1, will, when 'removed by the stripper, 'be deposited upon the upper fold or member of the previous The sheetat its out sheet, which upper fold or member is shown in Fig. 1, against the roll 2 ready tobe re-' moved by the stripper 23.

The assembling of the sheets is preferably done upon a yielding table or platform 27 which descends as required by the accumulating paper. lVhile I have shown a ma chine producing a single pile of sheets, it is obvious that the incomingweb may be divided longitudinally in its passage through the machine and two or more piles of sheets produced, depending upon the width of the parent web's.

A great many slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of the parts described without departing from my invention and hence I do not restrict myself to the precise details set forth but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my-invention.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with two rolls, of rolls beside said first-mentioned rolls, and carrying cutters, means for feeding sheets between said rolls, flanged cam disks controlling the operation of the cutters, and means compelling the interfolding of the sheets or cut units.

2. In an apparatus of the character de scribed the combination with two rolls, rolls located beside the first-mentionedrolls and having longitudinal grooves therein, bars in said grooves projecting at their ends beyond the rolls, cutters on said bars, springs behind the bars pressing them outward, flanged disks into which the ends of the bars project and which hold the cutters in the rolls, and said flanged disks having notches or recesses which permit the cutter to be forced outward by its springs to sever the strip and means for folding said severed sheets.

3. In an apparatus. of the character described, the combinationwith two rolls and means for feeding sheets over the respective rolls, of V-shaped longitudinal ribs on both rolls to press the paper sheets into grooves in '115 the other roll and impress folds in'the sheets, and means for timing the feed of sheets or units between the rolls to compel the over: lapping and interfolding of the sheets orunits passing over one roll with the sheets or units 120 passing over the other roll.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with two rolls, means for cutting strips into sheets or units of several sheets, and feeding the same over 125 both rolls and down between them, and timing the feed of the sheets or units to compel them to overlap, of means for forming impression lines of fold in said sheets or units, vertical racksjreciprocated vertically, strip- 130 grooves in the rolls to strip the sheets or units therefrom, and folders operated by said racks for pressing down the folds or the sheets or units.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with two rollshaving longitudinal grooves therein, of pins or points beside the grooves, cutters constructed to sever a strip or strips into a sheet or units of several sheets, and means for forming folding impressions in the sheets and for forcing the same onto the points, tapes forfeeding said sheets or units down between the rolls, and the cutting operation so timed as to compel the sheets or units to overlap, strippers construoted to force the sheets or units from the pins or points, a table or platform to receive the folded sheets, and folders constructed to fold and pressdown the folded sheets thereon.

6. In a folding machine of the class de:

scribed, 'thecombination with a pair of cylinders provided with knives for folding the paper supplied in. alternate directions, of means, for delivering tothe folding knives two sheets at a time, said sheets in their length and juxtaposition being matched with the folding knives in such a way that the knives come to bear alternately 1n opposite directions upon or between the ends of the two sheets before getting at the center portion of the adjacent or back sheet and means for carrying the folded paper alternately wtth each of the two cylinders to right and le t.

.In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscrib- 

